The Number Thirteen
by scoutfinches
Summary: An American student was sent to The Republic of Greater East Asia for one reason and one only. Her father's work recruitment. When the plane ride home goes awry, she gets placed with her Japanese classmates in more than just a fight to the death; she becomes a participant in a elaborate, complicated game.
1. Student List

Female Students

1. Hudson Marie Greystone.  
>2. Shinji Hokkaido.<br>3. Ai Ibaraki.  
>4. Moe Iwate.<br>5. Tohru Kufasaku.  
>6. Yuuka Kumamoto.<br>7. Rin Maruyama.  
>8. Nana Mochizuki.<br>9. Mai Nakamura.  
>10. Kotone Suzuki.<br>11. Aimi Tabachi.  
>12. Mayumi Takenaka.<br>13. Sayuri Tsukino.  
>14. Ryuu Yamada<p>

Male Students

1. Michi Akiyama.  
>2. Ichiro Fukui.<br>3. Saburo Hamasaki.  
>4. Ryo Honda.<br>5. Yuki Inoue.  
>6. Goro Kagome.<br>7. Daiki Ito.  
>8. Arate Kato.<br>9. Moto Mori.  
>10. Ayuki Saito<br>11. Itsuki Tachibana  
>12. Kinji Utsumi.<br>13. Hiraku Yamada.  
>14. Juro Yukimira.<p> 


	2. Chapter 1

_Location: Mito, Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan. The Republic of Greater East Asia._  
><em>Time: 14:08<em>  
><em>Date: May 22 2013<em>

_The rain poured on the city streets. Students ran down the slick sidewalks running home to tell their parents about their adventures at school._

Our student, our protagonist, was doing otherwise.

Her canvas school shoes were soaked from the rain and puddles. She was miles away from home still. She had no time to lose. In the next two days, she would be back in The Empire of America again.

However, despite what she lost in that country, she gained something as well.

Friendship.

The sting of the relationships she had in America faded when she met the classmates she had in the dreadful dictatorship. They helped her survive the regulations and saved her quite a few times from scrapes with the law.

She was so close to freedom she could almost taste it.

Her slow steps were paused when she heard a voice calling her name.

"Hudson-san!"

She was greeted with a familiar voice. One she had grown quite close to in the past few months. It was Kinji Utsumi (Male Student #12).

"Oh... Hello!" He stopped his shuffle to stand next to her.

"Hi.. We bought a gift for you. We wanted you to remember your experience with us.."

"The whole class?" She asked her classmate. His hand was behind his back, he was holding something she could not see.

"Yes! We did."

She lit up instantly. She never expected such a kind gesture.

"I have it right here. We already sent letters to your home, Hudson-san."

"Thank you!" She held the small, wide box in her hands. "I'll miss you all so much... I'm glad you made me feel so welcome."

Kinji looked at his American classmate. So far, he did not mess up. He was nervous that he would reveal his feelings for her.

Hudson looked at him also. She observed his features almost extensively. His hair was one of the usual styles of the country. American classmates would dub it "Japan hair" when they saw the style. His eyes were big, almost fully American looking.

The brown of his eyes looked into the green of hers.

That, was getting utterly awkward.

"Do I open it now, Utsumi?"

"If you want to."

Hudson walked underneath the roof of a roadside store to be covered from the rain. She put down her umbrella.

The store had a bench on the outside, she took a seat.

"Utsumi, come on! Sit down! I don't want you out in the rain!"

Reluctantly, Kinji sat down next to her on the bench.

He watched anxiously as she untied the silky, satin ribbon. She peeled the tape of the paper slowly, almost as if she wanted to scare him.

The book was a translation dictionary. English to Japanese and vice versa.

"Well... Sensei wanted it to involve school." Kinji laughed. "I don't know if it's going to come in handy in America."

Hudson was still grateful. "Thank you so much! I'm already fluent, but this is still wonderful. I'll never forget a word again! Hopefully."

Kinji remembered how she'd forget the name of a food in the lunch line sometimes, keeping the servers waiting. On days that got to choose their food, that is.

"I wish I could have gotten something for all of you! I feel terrible!"

Kinji tried quickly to counsel her. "No, no. It's fine! You can't buy a gift for all thirty of us! That's absurd!"

Hudson nodded her head. "My _parents_ will think it's absurd if I don't go to the house soon to pack!" She put the gift, paper, and ribbon all in her school bag.

"Thank you for the gift. I'll miss you." She was glancing at Kinji again.

"Don't tell the others, but you were my favorite." She gives him a tight hug.

"Goodbye! I'll write you soon!" Hudson then ran off into the rain, with her clear umbrella covering her head.

"I'll write you too..." His voice was drowned out by the drops of rain, the bustling street, and the busy footsteps surrounding him.  
>He put his hands in his pockets and started to think.<p>

"It's such a shame... I never even thought about asking her out. After our study trip, I can't wait to write her... I'm sad she has to leave beforehand. Tokyo would have been so much fun if she could have stayed."

He kicked a stray piece of concrete across the sidewalk.

"Well... Maybe I'll see her again somewhere else. Actually, I know I will."

Kinji turned around and walked the opposite direction to his house, not knowing of the trials ahead of the entire Grade 3 class.

_ "Now, back to the entrance exam."_

_28 Students Remaining_


	3. Chapter 2

_Location: Tokyo, Japan: Narita Airport. Flight 261. The Republic of Greater East Asia._  
><em>Time: 22:16<em>  
><em>Date: May 24 2013<em>

_ The mother, father, and daughter sat in their seats on the plane._

The few other passengers, the few people allowed to fly internationally, already took to their typical hobbies. Typing on the bulky, government provided laptops and writing in their notebooks.

_ "Please take your seats. The plane will take off in twenty minutes."_

The daughter opened her school satchel and pulled out a stack of papers. Letters from her classmates.

_ "Dear Hudson,_

_ I miss you already. You were so kind to me. I've never quite had a friend like you before. Never in all my life has someone been so welcome in my_

_own home... Ironically. You made this country halfway decent for me. I was glad to be your classmates for a few months, I really enjoyed it._

_ I'm also thankful you got me through Chinese and Japanese history this term. I wouldn't have passed the entrance exam without you. Osaka University, here I come!_

_ Well, I should have summed it up much quicker, but you have helped me with so many things. I'm glad to have seen you for the short time we _

_had together. I hate saying goodbye._

_ From, Utsumi Kinji, Boy #12_

_ P.S. Thank you for helping me discover Bruce Springsteen._

_ P.P.S Please, don't tell my parents about that last part."_

She chuckled at his letter and put it back in her bag.

She then got out her own stationary and began to write a letter back.

_ "Dear Kinji,_

_ For the sake of this letter and my sanity, I'll be using your first name. I feel like we're close enough now. Right?_

_ Well, I miss you too. I was thinking of our class last night while I packed. I don't want to go back to Arkansas for the rest of year. I don't really like it there._

_ Despite the limitations of the dictatorship, I had a nice lesson on cultures while I came here. And I'm really going to miss it. America will never _

_feel the same again._

_ I'm hoping to visit soon. And just check out the town again. I know I'd be risking a lot, but I know I'll miss the companionship at home. And that's_

_the only reason, you know for a fact I'm not going to just worship The Dictator. I hate him. I hate that country. I hate that you're in that country also._

_ I hope you write me back. Just because I'm in America doesn't mean we're not friends!_

_ Sincerely, Hudson Greystone, Girl #1_

_ P.S You're welcome._

_ P.P.S Don't tell your parents about that."_

_ "Please take your seats, the plane will take off in ten minutes."_

Hudson then put away her things.

"Mom, can I got to the bathroom?"

Hudson's mother was a little flustered by her daughter's request. She thought she wasn't going to speak.

"Oh, yes! Be quick, the plane's going to fly soon!"

Hudson rearranged her bag and tied her auburn hair up in a ponytail.

"Thank you. I'll get going.." She heard loud, booted footsteps coming on the plane.

_"The plane will be taking off in at least twenty minutes. We apologize for the sudden delay."_

She walked swiftly to the bathroom, not taking notice of the three soldiers just arriving in the cabin.

All of them were tall, bulky, and suited. Their buzzed hair and scarred faces made them almost completely, utterly, the faces of war.

One smacked the baton he held in his hand on one of the chairs. The loud thud startled all of the plane's currently seated passengers.

"Which one of you men is Mister Mark Greystone? Stand up._ Now!_"

Hudson's father, Mark, shakily rose out of his seat. He was holding his glasses in his left hand. He dropped them on the floor, where they shattered.

_ Thank God those are my readers! Well, I shouldn't be thinking of that right now..._

"Do you remember signing that waiver, sir?"

"What waiver?"

"The waiver for Program 68. The one that certified your daughter's safety."

"Oh! Of course! Why are you asking me that question? It's been a month or so.. We don't need to worry anymore. Hudson's going to be safe... I know that..."

The speaking soldier looked over at the shortest one, who stood behind him.

"Show him the waiver, Yamada."

Without hesitation, the waiver which both Mark and Alina, Hudson's mother, had sighed was displayed to the whole cabin. Then, Yamada proceeded to tear it in half.

"There is nothing you can do. Your daughter is participating in the game. Bring her out here this instant."

Alina was beginning to cry. "I can't let you do this. You said she was going home. You said she was going to be safe..."

She barely pressed on, but continued to speak. "It's either her or me. And I'd rather have you kill me. This is absurd!"

Yamada aimed his gun at Alina, but the dominant soldier stopped him.

"I need to explain to her the reason behind this. Don't kill her yet."

Yamada pointed the gun back to the cabin floor.

"No matter what, every child ages ten to eighteen is eligible for the game at some point in time. Of course, your daughter's class was actually

chosen. Sadly, this poor class had to go right before graduation. All of that hard work, wasted. Those entrance exams, pointless. This ride home,

interrupted."

The parents stood motionlessly. There was no surrender.

"Will she come home?" Mark dared to ask.

"That depends on if she actually... Plays the game."

They then covered their faces with masks.

"Good night, Greystone family, and may we send our best wishes to you in America."

A chemical filled the cabin of the plane. All of the passengers fell into a deep sleep.

Including Hudson, who was watching the soldiers by the bathroom door. She was sleeping peacefully on the floor.

Yamada, the dominant one, and the other silent colleague lifted her lithe body off the ground.

They carried her off the plane, down the terminal and into the charter bus in which the class was riding in.

"This is your last stop, Usaki. Drive as close as you can to Okishima Island. We'll take it from there." Yamada told the bus driver, who was also wearing a mask.

The driver nodded her head quietly. "Thank you."

_ The bus then began it's long ride down the highway, with twenty-eight students in tow._

28 Students Remaining


	4. Chapter 3

p style="text-align: left;"emLocation: Somewhere in Japan. Unknown. The Republic of Greater East Asia./embr /em Time: span class="aBn" tabindex="0" data-term="goog_567687052"span class="aQJ"24:00/span/span/embr /em Date: May 25 2013/embr / br /em Hudson awoke to the sound of pencil on paper; the cold air of the bus./em/p  
>p style="text-align: left;"br  "Hudson-san! You're awake!"/p  
>p style="text-align: left;" It was one of her friends from class, her closest friend, Tohru Kufasaku (Female Student #5). While she greeted her friend, she was sketching.p  
>p style="text-align: left;"br  "What? Where am I?"/p  
>p style="text-align: left;"br  "You're on the bus. You're here. We're on our way to Tokyo!"/p  
>p style="text-align: left;"br  "I was just there!"/p  
>p style="text-align: left;"br  The tinted windows gave them no exact direction of where they were going. The whole class was at a loss./p  
>p style="text-align: left;"br  "You were?"/p  
>p style="text-align: left;"br  "Yeah. I was just writing Utsumi his letter on the airplane... I then went to the bathroom and forgot what happened after that."/p  
>p style="text-align: left;"br  emThey ripped my parent's waiver. I'm gonna die... They're gonna die. And.../em/p  
>p style="text-align: left;"br  "Huh. Weird. Maybe it was a dream!" Tohru concluded, before she retied the red ribbon in her dark hair./p  
>p style="text-align: left;"br  "Speaking of dreams... Was it a coincidence that you only wrote his letter?"/p  
>p style="text-align: left;"br  Hudson laughed. "Maybe not. Let's keep that to ourselves, alright?"/p  
>p style="text-align: left;"br  "Well... You never know. Maybe you shouldn't anymore.. I heard he likes you too!"/p  
>p style="text-align: left;"br  "Not when I wake up.. Because maybe this is a dream."/p  
>p style="text-align: left;"br  "What makes you think that?"/p  
>p style="text-align: left;"br  "I'm not on the plane... I said I wasn't going on the trip. I was going home."/p  
>p style="text-align: left;"br  "Well... I wish I knew what was going on... Really."/p  
>p style="text-align: left;"br  Tohru paused. "Utsumi! Come here!"'/p  
>p style="text-align: left;"br  Hudson groaned. "Tohru-chan, no!"/p  
>p style="text-align: left;"br  Tohru started giggling. "I'm not letting him get away this time!"/p  
>p style="text-align: left;"br  "What?" He called from the opposite side of the bus./p  
>p style="text-align: left;"br  "I've got a surprise for you! Come here!"/p  
>p style="text-align: left;"br  "What is it?"/p  
>p style="text-align: left;"br  "Just come over here, you moron!" Tohru was still cracking up./p  
>p style="text-align: left;"br  Hudson was still unamused./p  
>p style="text-align: left;"br  "Okay. I'm coming. Honda, can you get up?"/p  
>p style="text-align: left;"br  Kinji's closest friend and schoolmate, Ryo Honda (Male Student #4), was seated next to him in the back of the bus./p  
>p style="text-align: left;"br  "Sure." Ryo Honda was never a socialite. He kept to himself quite often and barely confided in even his best friend, Kinji, for help and support in times of trouble./p  
>p style="text-align: left;"br  When he did come to his friend for help, he knew right then it was severe./p  
>p style="text-align: left;"br  His spiky, cooper colored hair almost got even more mussed and gnarled as Kinji touched the top of his head./p  
>p style="text-align: left;"br  "I don't think it'll take long. I should be back soon." He reassures his friend./p  
>p style="text-align: left;"br  "Nah. Kufasaku is already coming this way." Ryo picked up Kinji's satchel./p  
>p style="text-align: left;"br  "Take your sappy love poems up there. Read them for all of us to hear, buddy."/p  
>p style="text-align: left;"br  Kinji frowned. "I don't write love poems!"/p  
>p style="text-align: left;"br  "Whatever your say, pal." Ryo then got out a piece of gum and started to chew on it./p  
>p style="text-align: left;"br  The sound was already heard across the bus. All of the students besides Hudson, Kinji, and Tohru stared back at him in annoyance./p  
>p style="text-align: left;"br  "Honda.. Utsumi and I are switching, if you don't mind." Tohru took a seat awkwardly next to Honda. She said maybe one word to him during her eighteen years of life. Or two./p  
>p style="text-align: left;"br  "Nope. I saw you coming. And is Greystone up there?"/p  
>p style="text-align: left;"br  Tohru giggled her signature giggle. "Yes, don't tell him."/p  
>p style="text-align: left;"br  "I'm saying nothing." He expressed no emotion, good or bad, towards the bubbly girl sitting next to him./p  
>p style="text-align: left;"br  "Now may be a good time to rest. If you don't mind, I'll be reading my book."/p  
>p style="text-align: left;"br  The two did not bother each other, and both secretly watched the interaction between the two classmates who had emsupposedly/em lost each other forever./p  
>p style="text-align: left;"br  The bus hit a bump in the road when Kinji arrived to Hudson and Tohru's spot./p  
>p style="text-align: left;"br  Hudson had her face in a book, the dictionary. It was the only one in her satchel./p  
>p style="text-align: left;"br  "Hello... Hudson-san? Can I sit here?"/p  
>p style="text-align: left;"br  Hudson looked up from the book and her mouth almost dropped. To her, things were getting more and more real by the second./p  
>p style="text-align: left;"br  em I'm not dreaming anymore.. He's in front of me now. And I'm speechless./em/p  
>p style="text-align: left;"br  "Yeah.. Sure. Of course you can!" She patted the seat closest to her in the row of three./p  
>p style="text-align: left;"br  Kinji sat next to her as she had told him to. They were uncomfortably close. Their shoulders touched./p  
>p style="text-align: left;"br  "Apparently, I had to go on this trip... I don't know why. I'm sorry I thought I was leaving.." She told him./p  
>p style="text-align: left;"br  "No, it's fine. It's not your fault. And we would have gotten up to Tokyo by now."/p  
>p style="text-align: left;"br  "Well, that makes sense, because I was in a plane at Narita Airport a few hours ago."/p  
>p style="text-align: left;"br  Kinji looked at her in confusion. "Why didn't you go home if you were in the plane?"/p  
>p style="text-align: left;"br  She sighed. "I was in the plane as I remember it... I don't know much for sure. Maybe it was a dream. But thank you so much for the gift."/p  
>p style="text-align: left;"br  She nudged her shoulder against his on purpose. Shockingly to her, he playfully shoved her back./p  
>p style="text-align: left;"br  "I don't care. I'm glad you're here with us." He was trying to hide his smile. He realized then it was apparent their attraction was mutual./p  
>p style="text-align: left;"br  And mutual, it was. Every student surrounding them stared. However, the two students being observed, didn't notice./p  
>p style="text-align: left;"br  Hudson blushed. "I am too, actually."/p  
>p style="text-align: left;"br  The flirtation made her forget about The Program for a second, or what she knew about it. She kept moving on and tried to hide the thoughts of / em There no way that we're... I... We had barely any time to be eligible anymore... The waiver... The Dictator... The../em/p  
>p style="text-align: left;"br em /em"You like the book?"/p  
>p style="text-align: left;"br  "Yeah! It's good. I've already used it for a letter."/p  
>p style="text-align: left;"br  "Whose was it?"/p  
>p style="text-align: left;"br  She went dead silent./p  
>p style="text-align: left;"br  "Was it... Mine?"/p  
>p style="text-align: left;"br  Hudson was stiff as a stone until Kinji put his hand over hers./p  
>p style="text-align: left;"br  "Yes. It was, actually. I was saying in it that maybe we were on a first name basis. Like Tohru-chan and I."/p  
>p style="text-align: left;" She moved her arm and and held his back. If things went on any longer, the relationship would finally blossom.p  
>p style="text-align: left;"br  Most of their classmates were elated./p  
>p style="text-align: left;"br  He grinned. "That very well may be..."/p  
>p style="text-align: left;"br  He was going to continue with courage he was just able to muster./p  
>p style="text-align: left;"br  However, the same chemical from the plane sifted through the charter bus's seats. The students fell swiftly asleep./p  
>p style="text-align: left;"br  Except for Hudson. She recognized the smell from earlier and was trying to peek through the window./p  
>p style="text-align: left;"br  She then turned to the driver. "Ma'am? What's that smell?"/p  
>p style="text-align: left;"br  The driver turned around, her gas mask fully exposed./p  
>p style="text-align: left;"br  "Dear, it's nothing. Please, go to sleep."/p  
>p style="text-align: left;"br  The ride went on still as Hudson fell out of consciousness. Her life was speeding past her eyes as she was preceding to fall into REM sleep. The/p  
>p style="text-align: left;"early years of her waddling around the house. The only child her parents ever bore. She never had another sibling, and she never knew if it was herp  
>p style="text-align: left;"choice or her parent's.p  
>p style="text-align: left;"br  Then, elementary school came along. Views and values expressed by her classmates bothered her. In result, she was pestered around too. It/p  
>p style="text-align: left;"was five years of loneliness and rejection. She kept going.p  
>p style="text-align: left;"br  Junior high was similar. She was gaining a few friendships and was still close to those friends to that day. Sadly, they transferred to different/p  
>p style="text-align: left;"high schools. High school, for the most part was the same. She made friends with a freshman in her junior year. She even had a boyfriend... For a fewp  
>p style="text-align: left;"weeks. The cold, depressing ending of that relationship led into her leaving America.p  
>p style="text-align: left;"br  To her, it was perfect timing./p  
>p style="text-align: left;"br  The Republic, like I told you earlier, is horrible and restricting as a government. No one can oppose them; the red and peach insignia is a symbol dreaded all over the world./p  
>p style="text-align: left;"br  The laws made her give up plenty of things, including her music./p  
>p style="text-align: left;"br  emBye bye, Bruce and may I see you again in May. Goodbye, Paul. I hope you give me a good day sunshine back in Arkansas. And hopefully, the sound of silence too./embr / /p  
>p style="text-align: left;" Shockingly, she made friends and actually had a good time. It was sad to think of leaving. Yet somehow, she was there again.p  
>p style="text-align: left;"br  Her class was headed for The Program./p  
>p style="text-align: left;"br  emThe game was just beginning./embr / br / 28 Students Remaining /p 


	5. Chapter 4

_Location: Okishima Island, Seto Inland Sea, Japan. The Republic of Greater East Asia._  
><em>Time: 03:14<em>  
><em>Date: May 25 2013<em>

_ Hudson was awoken once again, this time to the sound of clicking footsteps. They were not booted or heavy-soled, but light and elated._

She raised her head to see quite the spectacle in front of her.

She was seated at a school desk. The chair and table were connected as they were at Mito's Private School 17, the class's school.

There was a chalkboard already labeled in kanji displaying instructions to the horrid game. A man was still writing the last character when he saw she rose her head.

_ "Awake already? You must be excited, aren't you?"_

Hudson looked at the man and then at herself. His appearance was surprising, considering what he was doing.

He was tall, and like her, lithe. His shoulders weren't broad, anyhow, his legs were long and spindly like a spider. A cascade of hair, long for a aged man, ended at the lower half of his ears.

"Are you excited?"

"For what?" She pretended to be oblivious.

"The game, of course!"

She squinted at the chalkboard. "Oh... The game.."

"We need to hurry! The sun will rise soon!" He grabbed a meter stick and smacked it on the desk.

"Boys, girls, wake up! Rise, you have a wonderful set of days ahead of you! Rise and shine!"

Hudson knew they were anything but wonderful. She kept her head up as the other students woke up.

Once everyone woke up, their hands went straight to their necks. Hudson didn't think of this at first. She was too focused on the state of her life to go see it.

_It was a silver collar. The metal was cold around her neck and was a little tight. It's red light shone singularly in the middle, a beacon for a participating student. The red eye of the devil himself._

"Good morning, students!" The man, the teacher, spoke once more. "Welcome!"

He made it sound like every day in class. This, was their last day in class. He made that almost a ominous undertone. Maybe, Hudson concluded, he was saving that for later to give them a real scare.

"Good morning." The class uttered as a whole, as they had for their professor back in school.

"I know what you're thinking... Every batch has the exact same questions, so, I'll be answering them all now."

The man turned to the wall.

"You're probably wondering where you are, and why you're not on your trip."

The class remained silent.

_"Well, your class was selected for The Program. You will fight and kill until one remains."_

More silence followed.

"What are the collars on your necks? They're monitors. We'll be able to track you throughout the game."

His statements were always followed by quiet. But he liked that, because he was happy to be able to keep going.

"You are also wondering other things. How long will it last? Where will the winner go? Do I really have to kill my friends? Can I stay in hiding instead?"

The very last rhetorical question was beginning to bring goosebumps to the skin of all of the students. They all realized what was happening right then and there.

T_his isn't a dream. I'm awake as I was on the plane. My death is awaiting me... Right here, right now. If I oppose, I'll bleed on this floor right here. I should have known I was never going back to America. Never should I have thought I was leaving this dreaded place._

"First of all, according to our random time selection..." He took out a set of envelopes and opened one. "We have five days. Well... You have five days. I have a few more."

No one dared to say a word. The instructor kept moving.

"Then, after one of you lucky students wins, well, if you're younger than sixteen, we will send you off to a randomized location where you will live in secret for the rest of your life."

_ So, what he's saying is that it's a lose-lose situation. Nobody wins anything no matter what._

"Third, yes. Every single friend you've ever had in this room. Even the _American_ sitting right in front of me. Freedoms only come with the land. Here, everyone is equal. And finally, no, you cannot. Our rule here is that every so often, we make a zone forbidden. Not everyone can stay safe for long. And the longer you last, the more likely it is you'll have a altercation with another classmate."

Hudson wanted to lash at him at that moment. For the sake of her survival, she kept her cool.

"Moving on... Do you have any questions?"

Angry, blank stares were the only responses that he received.

"No? Alright! I'll then send you off! You have a bag that has a five day supply of food and water, a weapon, a map, and a compass. Four times a day at midnight, six, noon, and eighteen, I will give you announcements. There, I'll announce deaths and new forbidden zones. The first one, once you all leave, will be this building. As I told you earlier, you will be sent off in once again, a random order. But first, Yamada, pass out the papers!"

The exact same police officer from the airplane emerged from the back of the room.

He picked up a set of freshly sharpened pencils and a stack of papers.

"Write down as I write." The currently unnamed instructor looked over at the teens.

"Kill or be killed." He wrote first.

The sounds of graphite scratching paper filled the room, the smell of the mineral loomed in the air.

Hudson wrote as well. All she could do to save herself was conform to the government's wishes.

"Trust no one."

The action was repeated; the "contestants" pressed their pencils hard on the paper and some of the pieces started to tear.

"The state wants to help you."

This was a lie Hudson wished was true.

_ At least America's a little considerate, right?_

"Let me collect those!" The students passed up the papers as if they were in class. They had a chance to look at one another closely for the first time.

Kinji was seated in his usual spot, as was Tohru. Both of them were distant from Hudson. She decided she would wait for them at the door.

Luckily, Tohru was in the girls's row. So, she wrote a quick message.

_ "Get Utsumi and let him know to meet us. I want to get us out together. Shh!"_

"Now, I will send you off. I almost forgot about your classwork, pardon me!" His second and final envelope was being opened in his hands.

"We're sending you off in seating order! Exciting!"

Hudson frowned.

_ Well, I'm first. Great. They're always putting me on the spot, huh?_

"And ladies first!" The teacher had the courage to laugh.

He read the name, and as quite a few Japanese people had, he pronounced it a little inaccurately.

"Hudson Greystone, female student number one!"

She walked up to the men and grabbed her bag as told. She then took a short, steady walk out the door.

"Let's wait a few minutes... Then, I'll send another one of you off.. This is too good to let go so soon!"

Kinji was twiddling with a wooden rubix puzzle, which he left in his satchel. His quiet activity was brought to a halt when a paper airplane hit his calf.

On the top, it read: "Sorry for the bad aim!"

He opened it and saw a note was inside. Along with another note. It was the one Hudson wrote shortly before leaving. The bigger one was telling him to try to meet her. Trying to tell him not to give up.

_When my chance came, I fell asleep... I can't just start that over again.. Can I? Here? Now?_

The teacher screeched another name that was not his.

Like the others, he kept quiet.

Michi Akiyama (Male Student #1), stayed put in his chair.

"And what do you think you're doing out there? Akiyama, you have no time to lose!"

Akiyama sighed. "She wasn't supposed to be here. I know that... I heard."

"You don't know about life's disappointments. That's exactly what happened. She just left. And now, you will too.."

"I'm staying put until you cancel it."

The teacher laughed. _"Yamada! Solve this... Problem."_

The boy was euthanized quickly with a bullet to the back of the head. Blood, brains, and bone splattered in his small area and his head thudded on the desk loudly.

"He said he wanted to stay put... Shinji Hokkaido, Female Student Number Two!"

Kinji was fuming. He dismissed killing that boy as if he had just broken a glass bowl on the floor.

Both Kinji and the teacher knew how valuable human life was. He knew that. And that's was what frightened the student so much from that point.

_ That's just our little taste of it. The vile, brutal place that is Greater East Asia.._

_ He had a while before his name was called, and boy, what a __**while**__ it was._

_27 Students Remaining_


	6. Chapter 5

_Location: Okishima Island, Seto Inland Sea, Japan. The Republic of Greater East Asia._  
><em>Time: 04:31<em>  
><em>Date: May 25 2013<em>

_ The air was cold and the sky was black._

Hudson had just walked out the door. She had no clue where she was.

She knew better than to stay right by the door. She made the split decision to run close by the tall mountain, where hopefully, she would have cover until daybreak.

Running across the forest, she realized how much weight she carried on both shoulders.

_ I really need to organize... What do I really need? What can I pitch?_

Even though the satchel she carried on the plane had almost nothing inside, it still felt like a large dumbbell on her shoulder. The bonus was not that, but a even heavier bag on her other side. A weapon, presumably a large war rifle, poked on the side of her duffel, making it hard to navigate.

For what felt like hours of running, she sat down on the bottom edge of the peak, in tall grass to be hidden.

First, she got out her flashlight. She cupped her hands around it to keep the light from seeping away from her perimeter.

Then, she was careful to keep the light hidden. She opened her duffel bag and got out her map.

Along with it was a pencil and a list of the students. From what she knew, everybody was still alive. So, she didn't put a mark on it.

The map labeled the island as a whole, with a mile of saltwater surrounding it.

_ Great. There's no way out, is there? Well... Why did I hope there was. Silly me!_

She was in zone C-7, right by the mountain as the map pertained.

She then picked up her weapon. Exactly as thought, it was a war rifle. It had a American name etched on the side. "Johnson". It was ancient, from World War Two. A M14 rifle as stated by Johnson once again.

Alongside it were three cases of shells. If she was to actually kill somebody, that is.

_ As if! _

She then heard footsteps coming through the grass.

"Hudson-san! I'm so glad I found you!"

It was Tohru. She was running towards Hudson's flashlight.

"Be quiet! Someone could come and... God forbid, kill us."

"Utsumi won't be able to see you under the grass!"

"We'll find him, don't worry." Hudson rearranged her bag and took a much needed drink of water.

"You're being a bit callous, don't you think?" Tohru asked her she plopped down on the ground. "I was watching you on the bus... You know..."

"I know, but now isn't the time to think about it. Now, it's time to try and survive for a few hours. Until the sun rises. Then we can think about searching for him."

"Okay, that sounds good." Tohru opened her own bag.

"I got... A fan." She held up the fan. "I'm not killing anyone, but..." She sighed.

"I have a gun. Don't worry. You'll be safe. I promise."

_ Trust no one. The state wants to help you._

"So... Are you sure?"

"Yes. Eat some of your food. We have a long day ahead. Rest.. I've got first watch."

Tohru shivered from the wind and took a piece of bread from her bag. "Okay... Do you know how to use that thing?" She pointed to Hudson's voluminous, space stealing weapon.

"Maybe." Hudson disassembled the gun to load it with bullets. "It's quite loud... And I have to clean it. Maybe."

"Alright." Tohru munched on her bread. "This bread isn't very good... So.. Good night."

"Well, good night."

_ It's morning. But right now, both of us could care less._

_ Meanwhile, outside of them, someone was watching. Perched on a branch, with a gun in hand and a eye in the light. _  
><em> A friend.<em>

_27 Students Remaining _


	7. Chapter 6

p style="text-align: left;"emLocation:Okishima Island, Seto Inland Sea, Japan. The Republic of Greater East Asia./embr /emTime: 06:10/embr /emDate: May 25 2013 /em br /br / em Ryo's legs dangled from the branch in his tall tree./em/p  
>p style="text-align: left;"br em Utsumi, where are you? With Greystone, perhaps? Hopefully./em/p  
>p style="text-align: left;"br  His eyes gazed upon the setting sun./p  
>p style="text-align: left;"br em Can you hear me? I'm watching for you!/em/p  
>p style="text-align: left;"br  After a while, Ryo got quite bored on his perch and decided to take a seaside stroll. The waves crashed against the rocks when he arrived. The taller, jagged rocks poked like skyscrapers to him in the dawn sky./p  
>p style="text-align: left;"br  "Good morning, class!" He shouted into the frigid air. "Good morning to you all, how are you this morning?" br / No response./p  
>p style="text-align: left;"br  "You've never heard me reach out, have you?"/p  
>p style="text-align: left;"br  No response./p  
>p style="text-align: left;"br  "I apologize for being so bitter... I..."/p  
>p style="text-align: left;"br  No response./p  
>p style="text-align: left;"br  "Utsumi, where are you?"/p  
>p style="text-align: left;"br  Once again, no response./p  
>p style="text-align: left;"br  "Please answer me!"/p  
>p style="text-align: left;"br  emKinji, did not./em/p  
>p style="text-align: center;"em27 Students Remainingem /p 


	8. Chapter 7

_Location: Okishima Island, Seto Inland Sea, Japan. The Republic of Greater East Asia._  
><em>Time: 06:37<em>  
><em>Date: May 25 2013 <em>

_Kinji ended up taking a stop by a wooded area. He sat down in the leaves and held his pistol tight in his hand._

_ Four more days... Four more days..._

He stayed put in the sunlight until he heard footsteps. However, it was too late to leave.

"Is anyone out there?" He heard the voice, but it was not the one he wanted to hear.

No, reader, it was the complete opposite of just that.

Kinji ducked under a small group of branches. Sadly, the intruder, Ryuu Yamada (Female Student #14), still figured out he was in the bushes.

"I heard you! Come out!"

Kinji didn't trust her. Really, no one ever did. She wasn't the type to trust with anything. Everything, pretty much.

She was callous like Ryo. Also, she had friends from the other school, the public school. Those friends did things not many other students within the class would even dare to. Things he knew his brother did. Things that his parents disapproved of, but yet, condoned.

"I know you think I'm a sleaze!" She poked the edge of her weapon, a rifle similar to Hudson's, against Kinji's back.

"No, no... I just want to travel alone." Kinji stood up, and then held his hands up strategically.

"I am not a sleaze!" Ryuu hissed. "I may like liquor and cigarettes and men, but I am not a sleaze."

"I never said anything about you. I don't know where you got that from."

"Oh, you all do. Even Honda talks shit about me. We all know that, mister. You look all sweet and charming. Like a little pop star, but you, my friend are anything but."

She pointed her gun at his chest. He remained silent.

"I barely think about you.. I think about.. Someone else."

Ryuu chuckled. "We all know that. And... You know she's here, right?"

"Yeah. And I'm trying to find her right now. Well, I was.."

"Oh! And what a shame that is, isn't it?" She then turns off her safety.

"I'll tell her you said hello." Ryuu aimed for his head, but shot his left shoulder instead.

He toppled over on the ground and laid still face down. She thought he was dead.

"Heh. You snooze, you lose!" Ryuu walked past him a few feet. She noticed two things that were different than the setting before.

First of all, her victim was still alive. He was breathing heavily. Secondly, two of her classmates, Hudson Greystone (Female Student #1) and Tohru Kufasaku (Female Student #5) stood in front of him.

Hudson held a large war rifle. Almost a bigger version of Ryuu's. Tohru carried their duffels and satchels.

Hudson then pointed her own armament at her. "Don't you dare kill him. I'll give you one last chance. Go. Now."

Ryuu stood tall on her spindly, long, spindly, spideresque legs. Her dyed blonde hair, which brought her better suitors, was becoming dark at the roots.

_ I should have dyed it last night! Damn it!_

"Fine. But I'll find you again. You won't hear the last of me. I'm winning this game. I'm coming back."

She gave Hudson one last glare with her big, round eyes. She then took off towards the mountain.

Hudson dropped her rifle and went to Kinji, who was still lying on the ground, now writhing in pain.

"Can you hear me?" She asked him.

"Yes! I can hear you!" He shouted, due to his own pain taking all of his thoughts. He could barely comprehend her presence with the words swirling in his brain.

"Can you turn right side up for me? I need to see your wound.. I saw you got shot.."

Kinji clamped his teeth together to help him succumb the pain before turning to reveal his profusely bleeding shoulder wound. The blood covered his blazer and his school shirt.

"Thank you... Tohru, can you pass me the cotton and gauze? And also... The alcohol and iodine." Hudson forgot about the names and honorifics. She was worried about the boy who could be dying in front of her. The boy she fell in love with.

Hudson slowly unbuttoned his blazer and then his shirt. She was beginning to feel awkward; she was having some butterflies.

_ He's really hurt... Don't think that!_

It took only a second after she finished that job that Tohru found their supplies. They found a small shack and took the medical supplies from the inside.

"There you go!" Tohru sat all of Hudson's requested items next to her. She nodded her head to thank her.

"Kinji.. This is going to hurt quite a bit.. Bear with me." She covered some cotton with the alcohol. "Just breathe."

When she covered his wound and began to clean it, he screamed because of the burn.

"Be still.. And quiet. You're doing good. Hang in there."

Kinji grasped her right arm as she got out a new piece of cotton.

"I will.. Thank you."

They both exchanged two small smiles. In a average situation, they would have lasted much longer.

The bleeding was almost completely stopped. The wound was almost stable.

"It didn't hit a artery. It was pretty close... Maybe. I know there's one up there somewhere.. But you just need stitches.."

Tohru luckily brought her own needle and thread and let Hudson use it on their newfound ally.

"Stay still.."

"I know, it's going to hurt. I can handle it... You're with me. I can handle it." He looked up at Hudson as he had before. Focusing on her helped him rid of some of the pain.

She poured a small amount of iodine on the small hole before moving the needle and thread through his skin. She heard him wince each time the needle went in and out, until after six times; twelve pokes, it was finished.

It was no professional job by any means, but she knew it would hold up for at least five days, the extent of the game.

"There. I'm finished. I'll get you some water." Hudson went to reach for her bottle of water.

"There's some in my bag. Don't waste yours on me."

Hudson tried to persuade him otherwise, but he insisted that she get his own. So, she opened his bottle instead.

"We both have another. We'll be fine." He said, one final time.

Hudson and Tohru helped him sit up against a thick tree branch. He was still aching, but was staring to feel a little comfort again.

Hudson eagerly watched him sit there. He was starting to drift in and out of consciousness. When he fell asleep, she would lightly tap his in uninjured shoulder.

It was at least fifteen minutes before he fully awoke again; seeing the girl's face made him smile.

"Thank you... For saving my life. I mean it."

Hudson nodded her head. "You're welcome."

"How did you know all that stuff?"

"My mom's a nurse.. And I took anatomy. I know my way around the human body. Well, enough to have saved you. Are you hungry?"

"Yes. I'm famished. You?"

Hudson pondered. "Yes. I haven't eaten since I was in Tokyo. I had lunch at the airport... It was more like a snack, actually."

"The portion sizes still mess you up, huh?"

"Yeah. I'll get us bread. It's the best I've got. I think it's government provided. Ration bread."

"Gross."

Tohru butted in. "Yeah. I ate it earlier."

"And.. Was it moldy?"

"No. I got a lucky piece. I'll eat too, I shouldn't take it for granted."

Hudson split a small loaf with her admirer. They picked off green bits and threw them across the forest floor.

After their silent meal, Hudson and Tohru packed their bags for the venture ahead.

"Good morning, students! Sensei Takami here! It's a little late for our first announcement. Pardon me, I was quite tired."

_ So that's his name, huh?_

Hudson scratched it on her list of student names. She kept it in her lap with her pencil and dictionary. Waiting.

_ "As stated on my screen here, only one of you has perished in the past few hours. Male Student #1, Michi Akiyama. There are twenty seven of you remaining still."_

Hudson crossed Akiyama off of her list. Since she wasn't there for the occasion of his death, she wanted to ask one of her allies.

Takami sighed before speaking again._ "Acting like this, like slackers, will never get you anywhere in this game. Not today. And not in four days either. I need to remind you that after a day without a death, all of your collars will explode and the game will have no winner. So... Start working. Stop slacking. By the way, the forbidden zones are as follows: C-7 at eleven; J-2 at one; and C-9 at three. I'll speak again at noon, enjoy the game!"_  
>Hudson put her materials back in her pocket.<p>

"How did he..." She asked, being the only one who hadn't witnessed the tragedy. Which was one of many to come. Despite the sadness each one evoked, she had almost missed out on nothing at all.

_ After life, comes death._

Kinji frowned. "He rebelled against Sensei and..." Kinji slid his finger across his throat. "Nothing stops that man. He's merciless. When he kills, he kills."

"Reminds me of Steinbeck." Hudson laughed at her own joke.

American novels were forbidden and hard to come back in The Republic. Not a single student in that country knew about the name, John Steinbeck. Tohru and Kinji could not even dare to laugh along with her.

"Well anyway, we need to find a place to go. We all know the forbidden zones, so let's cross those out, shall we?"

Hudson, Kinji, and Tohru all had their maps sprawled out, weighed by stones and branches.

"Our zone is forbidden. We have to leave before eleven. I'm not sure of where we should go."

"Back to the shed!" Tohru suggested. "It's safe there, isn't it?"

"Safe enough for now. Hopefully. But what if that backfires?"

"Just... Go to the lighthouse. Or the temple like on the map."

Hudson and Kinji gave each other quick glances. They claimed that they were on the same page.

"That sounds good to us.

"Alright. Everything's packed... We need to go.. Soon."

Kinji picked up his tattered school jacker and put it in his duffel in a rush. He slipped on his shirt and carried what he could on his right shoulder.

The group marched out of zone C-7 with a follower.

_ Ryuu Yamada._  
>Her steps were quiet as a mouse. She kept still when they kept still and walked when they walked.<p>

She had no plans to bother them just yet.

_ My time will come... I don't know what I'll do. I know seduction won't work here... Maybe I should just kill them. Three shots on the back their heads. Not that hard, right?_

Either way, she had a long time before she could do just that.

She hated everything about each one of them.

She solely hated Hudson because of the patriotism she (Ryuu) held for The Republic.

You know why she hates Kinji.

And Tohru, she thought, was way too innocent. And ignorant.

_Keep moving forward. Keep moving forward._

_27 Students Remaining_


	9. Chapter 8

p style="text-align: left;"emLocation: Okishima Island, Seto Inland Sea, Japan. The Republic of Greater East Asia./embr /em Time: 08:12/embr /em Date: May 25 2013/embr / br /em At the edge of a cliff stood two students. Their eyes were on the jagged rocks and the sea. Goro Kagome (Male Student #6) and Mayumi Takenaka (Female Student #12)./em/p  
>p style="text-align: left;"br  Mayumi's long hair was flowing in the wind. Efforts to put it up were futile./p  
>p style="text-align: left;"br  She held a small bouquet of clovers that Goro had gone out to fetch after he began his search for her./p  
>p style="text-align: left;"br  Not only did he want to find her, he also wanted to find Utsumi (Male Student #12) and Greystone (Female Student #1). However, that search was a fluke./p  
>p style="text-align: left;"br  So, he stayed with Mayumi. He was lucky he had someone he loved along with him./p  
>p style="text-align: left;"br  "Thank you. For the flowers." She sniffed the bouquet./p  
>p style="text-align: left;"br  "You're welcome,"/p  
>p style="text-align: left;"br  em As another boy had fifteen years earlier, he was allied with his girlfriend, and he even brought her flowers./em/p  
>p style="text-align: left;"br  Mayumi stared down at the dark water. "I don't know how much longer we can go on like this."/p  
>p style="text-align: left;"br  "Like what?"/p  
>p style="text-align: left;"br  Mayumi sighed. "In this death trap. I bet Yamada's already got her claws on a few of them.. Out there."/p  
>p style="text-align: left;"br  Goro replied. "I saw her in the woods a few hours ago. She didn't notice me and I haven't seen her since. And I know maybe a few more people/p  
>p style="text-align: left;"will be... Like that."p  
>p style="text-align: left;"br  "Like who?"/p  
>p style="text-align: left;"br  "Honda. And if Hudson-san dies, Utsumi too. He'll be caught up on revenge because.. It's obvious he loves her too much. He would never let her/p  
>p style="text-align: left;"memory go."p  
>p style="text-align: left;"br  "Goro, Hudson-san isn't going to die. I know that. She's American. She's more keen with these things, guns and knives, than we are. They're/p  
>p style="text-align: left;"legal there in public, she knows what she's doing."p  
>p style="text-align: left;"br  "That doesn't mean she's a killer. I love you, but do you really think that?"/p  
>p style="text-align: left;"br  "No. She's just had exposure. We haven't." Mayumi covered her face with the flowers./p  
>p style="text-align: left;"br  Goro tried to speak by was interrupted by his girlfriend./p  
>p style="text-align: left;"br  "Maybe, we should just kill ourselves. We're here.. We might as well."/p  
>p style="text-align: left;"br  Goro was angry almost instantly. "We're adults, Mayumi! We only have a few days until the entrance exams. We can go to college and get/p  
>p style="text-align: left;"married and start a family! We can't just... Commit suicide."p  
>p style="text-align: left;"br  "It's not like we can have that anymore.. The Dictator took that away from us."/p  
>p style="text-align: left;"br  Mayumi took out a pistol./p  
>p style="text-align: left;"br  "We should just end it. Now."/p  
>p style="text-align: left;"br  "What? Our relationship?"/p  
>p style="text-align: left;"br  "No, our lives."/p  
>p style="text-align: left;"br  Goro took the weapon away from Mayumi and tossed it over the cliff./p  
>p style="text-align: left;"br  em What a crucial mistake./em/p  
>p style="text-align: left;"br  "No. We can't do that."/p  
>p style="text-align: left;"br  "What about a compromise?"/p  
>p style="text-align: left;"br  em "Meet me in the middle. Well, come on, let's make up a dance and we'll agree to call it the compromise..."/em/p  
>p style="text-align: left;"br  "I told you I want you to stay alive. I want to stay alive. We don't have to kill ourselves over this."/p  
>p style="text-align: left;"br  Their collars began to blink their beaconing red lights./p  
>p style="text-align: left;"br  Sensei Takami was listening with all ears./p  
>p style="text-align: left;"br  em If you don't just do it, I'll do it for you. I can't just sit around here and wait all day for another... Elimination!/em/p  
>p style="text-align: left;"br  Goro figured out what was going on. He had to choose life or death; quick./p  
>p style="text-align: left;"br  "Then, we'll make a pact."/p  
>p style="text-align: left;"br  "A suicide pact?"/p  
>p style="text-align: left;"br  "No... If one of us dies, the other kills themselves."/p  
>p style="text-align: left;"br  Mayumi grinned at him. She shook his hand as if signing a contract./p  
>p style="text-align: left;"br  "Deal."/p  
>p style="text-align: left;"br  Goro looked at the girl he chose to spend high school with. Unlike before, he never knew if it would be his last glimpse./p  
>p style="text-align: left;"br  She's so beautiful.. And I'm so lucky. And I'm so grateful and she's grateful and we can live these next four days together somewhere. Alone. In peace./p  
>p style="text-align: left;"br  "Great. I love you... Thank you." He tells her, before kissing her lips./p  
>p style="text-align: left;"br  They embraced for a long while. It was blissful for them; coming to a conclusion and making up again. There was nothing better to Goro than/p  
>p style="text-align: left;"pleasing his girl, even in such a circumstance.p  
>p style="text-align: left;"br  Sensei thought maybe it was too much./p  
>p style="text-align: left;"br  em So... Yes or no?/em/p  
>p style="text-align: left;"br  He listened and he listened well, but since Akiyama, no other student had passed on. The game couldn't continue like that. If nobody died,/p  
>p style="text-align: left;"they'd all die. Dying made the game operate, it made it's gears turn. At that point, those gears were rusty and ready to crumble.p  
>p style="text-align: left;"br  In his hands, he held a remote with a big, red button. He then pressed the button./p  
>p style="text-align: left;"br  em The "it couple" of Mito's Private School 17 died in their embrace./em/p  
>p style="text-align: left;"br  On the ground, their bodies landed swiftly and silently./p  
>p style="text-align: left;"br  Blood from their necks slid down like a river over the grass and the clover bouquet, making a dual lake of their identities./p  
>p style="text-align: left;"br  Blood was the one difference that The Dictator said anyone in The Republic of Greater East Asia ever communally had./p  
>p style="text-align: left;"br  Goro and Mayumi shared that instead./p  
>p style="text-align: left;"br  em Type O, and Type O only./embr / /p  
>p style="text-align: center;"25 Students Remaining p 


	10. Chapter 9

_Location: Little Rock, Arkansas. The Empire of America._  
><em>Time: 23:00 (Central Time)<em>  
><em>Date: May 24 2013 (Across the Date Line)<em>

_ "Good evening, passengers! You have arrived to Little Rock, your destination! Please, leave your seats after the plane has come to a complete _

_stop. Also, do not forget your belongings. We hope you have had a wonderful time flying with Republic Air. Make sure to fly with us again!"_

The cheerful stewardess's voice reflected a foil of what was anything but for two passengers in the plane.

Mark and Alina Greystone, the parents of America's second Program contestant.

Their fate was anything but fortunate. They could only watch as the soldiers took their daughter away from them in Tokyo. And now, in

Arkansas, they had no way to keep track of the progress of their daughter.

The stewardess walked up and down the aisle, making sure every passenger exited safely. She was passing out mints and chocolate chip cookies.

Seeing the American passengers still checking for their things, she walked over to them.

She saw the empty seat where their daughter sat in hours ago and frowned.

"I'm so sorry..." She held out four wrapped cookies, two for each, to the Americans. "This is all I can offer to help you with your sorrow. My

brother was in it... And he died. I wish I could stay in the country.. Here.. And get out of this plane and never go back."

Mark was shocked by her generosity and the words she said. On the cameras, recorded for all of the legislature to see.

"Well... Thank you, miss." He took the cookies and put them in his work satchel. "All we can do now is pray. She might never come home..."

The stewardess helped them out of the aisle.

"I'm allowed to go to the terminal today. Can I take you?"

Alina smiled at the girl. She was barely older than their daughter and still had to provide for her family. The loss of her brother was devastating

and her father could not work. He succumbed to depression and lost all of his money to gambling. Her mother was barely earning minimum wage in

her fast food job. She spent most of it on herself.

Either of them knew of this, but felt deep sympathy for her, as she felt for them.

The girl led them down to the terminal. Her bright red and peach uniform made her stand out. The reason, was if she was to escape.

_ I'm not sure if I can go any further... My family... Well, they told me last night they don't need me anymore. I don't need them either. They can _

_earn their own yen. This is my opportunity to earn dollars.._

"Can I walk with you to the door?" She asked, as the couple was waving goodbye.

Mark knew exactly how she felt. Like his daughter, he was concerned for this woman's safety.

"You're going to get killed!"

The former stewardess took off her badge. Then, her jacket. The skirt was unidentifiable with the rest of her clothing.

"I'd rather be killed than go back there. I've gotten this far, right on American ground. I'm not turning back."

Mark did not say more and agreed with his wife to let the girl follow them.

The walk down the door and to the car. Neither of them object as she sits in the backseat.

Mark kept his sweaty hands on the wheel, his voice was loud and booming, interrupting all calm any of the women had.

"Why us? Why!" He honked the car for no specific reason at all, taking every other driver on the highway off guard.

"We did nothing to them, we never once broke a rule of theirs. No matter how stupid it was! And now our daughter's going to die for who knows

what! Who knows who, more specifically. That Dictator went up against this country by trying to kill her... And..."

He lost his train of thought and pulled off the exit to Jacksonville, their hometown.

"And I... Know that he wants to start a war. And so do I.."

In the driveway of the typical two story, brick family home was their other car and Hudson's small, grey sedan. The yellow submarine sticker on

the left corner on the back window was still bright. The periscopes were still vibrant red and beckoned them to take a exuberant adventure.

_ No thanks._

The woman stayed in Hudson's old room that night and observed the scenery.

The walls were painted bright purple. Not by choice, accent colors were black and red.

Hudson's school variety jacket for academics and drama club laid sprawled across the chair at her desk. A big red thirteen on the jacket indicated

her age.

_ Grade three... What a shame... She had places to be... Things to do. Like my brother and all of those other kids... She just.._

The walls had a few posters and coat hangers on them. A closet was on her left and a window on her right.

What made the room complete was the makeup vanity. Sitting horizontally across the bed was a large, old fashioned makeup mirror painted a

different shade of purple. Along the sides were pictures. Whether it was on the glass or on the wall, pictures surrounded it.

That night, Hudson's parents put on certain images before the woman went to bed.

During those moments, she was outside taking in the fresh air she had never breathed before.

Older pictures had her with more American students. In the auditorium in front of a beautifully decorated stage. The processes of building them

up and taking them down were also documented. Letters from her few friends explained distress about her missing the spring musical due to her trek

overseas.

The woman realized it was not a choice for her. Her father had to leave and work for East Asia. At the order of the National Senate.

Then, she instinctively picked a photograph off the bottom of the mirror. The newest addition.

There was Hudson, the girl who she saw on the plane, with another classmate. The woman recognized the girl from her brother's field trip. Not

the deadly one, but one before that. The reason he pressed on to go on the other study trip, the one that killed him.

The girl next to Hudson was Tohru Kufasaku.

And for whatever reason it was, the woman began to cry.

She sobbed for a life lost across the Pacific Ocean.

_25 Students Remaining_


	11. Chapter 10

_Location: Okishima Island, Seto Inland Sea, Japan. The Republic of Greater East Asia._  
><em>Time: 08:32<em>  
><em>Date: May 25 2013 <em>

_ Hudson's group walked a mile or so and were just about to make a stop to a small shed outside of the forbidden zone. _

_ Instead, they stopped early. To the sound of gunshots. _

About a eighth of a mile east was the body of Moto Mori (Male Student #9), who died at the hands of Ryuu.

Wounds covered his body; bullets riddled it. They bled very little, so the crime scene was relatively clean.

_My first kill of at least four... How wonderful. _

She was still thinking of the murder when she saw the trio enter the shed.

For a while, she sat on the side until someone took a step out the door.

Only one of them. Tohru.

The girl held a weapon, a small pistol in her hands. They were shaking and facing strictly forward.

_ Were they too intimate there? Did she have to leave?_

Ryuu was a loner and was not aware if the concept of "watch". She had never had to "watch" over anyone but herself. Even though it was a life

she admitted not wanting, she took no pride in being alone.

In spite of that, she flew on as an outcast. Being such a person made her profit on the streets. Profit that helped her buy her hair dye and pink

eyeshadow. Profit that helped her gain even more of itself. Because men like women who are dolled up. Contrary to ones who are disheveled and

meek, like she thought the other girls were.

Tohru was definitely at that point in time. Little did Ryuu know, she was as well.

Tohru's red ribbon was flopping and almost untied at both ends. Her hair was in her face and stuck up where it normally did not. Her eyes looked

tired, from not even a day of the game. Her rush to find her best friend resulted in some facial injuries and scrapes on her knees.

They were both doing terribly.

"Hello!" Ryuu made a innocent claim, one that made Tohru jump and point the gun between Ryuu's eyes.

"Hello... Yamada! Don't move, I'll shoot!" Her hands jolted rapidly.

"So, that's how it is, isn't it? And what are your friends doing? Huh? Did they finally... Confess?"

"No. They're touchy, but you know... Nothing's happening. I apologize, but you need to leave. I don't trust you.."

"Is it because I'm a whore?"

"No, no. It's because you're a killer. I saw Mori die with my own eyes. He was covered in your bullets. You're merciless!" Tohru took a deep breath

to speak as she never had before.

"You're fucking merciless! A fucking monster, you hear me? You stop at nothing to suck money and life out of people. Whether it be a old

businessman with a hunch or a stupid girl like me. You don't give a damn about anyone else, because in your world, there's no one else to care

about! Just you!"

Ryuu was shocked by Tohru. She had never said anything so rude about anyone. Even if it was deserved.

"Did Hudson-san teach you that? Did she teach you how to stand up to a little old bully like me?"

Tohru remembered in junior high when Ryuu slashed her skirt. Long before her whoring and drinking days, she was just a plain old bully. Things

changed for both of them. One gained more innocence, one lost all of it.

"No. I learned to myself. I'm my own person. I was eighteen years old before I met Hudson-san. We're all our own people, Yamada."

"Are you sure? Because there's only one winner at this game." Ryuu held up her rifle and tried to shot Tohru in the head. She missed by a mere

centimeter. Like the shot like she did with Kinji, actually having a good aim that time as well.

"And that, would be me."

She shot again; this time, towards her right shoulder.

Then, Ryuu walked away from the scene. Hudson's and Kinji would be her grand finale, she decided.

_ If you watch the movies, you know a good love story makes a great plot twist. By that, I mean destroying it._

It didn't take long for Hudson and Kinji to hear Tohru's screams.

Immediately, they tried to help her. The medicines and supplies were scattered around the three of them. It was a mad rush.

In the end, it was too late for her. Ryuu hit the major artery that she had missed on Kinji before.

"I'm so sorry..."

Tohru knew when she was shot that it was the end. No sudden apologies and atonements would help her get through her death any easier.

"I know.." Tohru held Hudson's hand. Never has a dying girl ever had such a strong grip. It was apparent that they were really friends. And Tohru

wanted Hudson to ride the wave and grieve in a short time and orderly manner.

"There's nothing much we can do... It looks like you got shot a while ago."

"No... I didn't. But it's lodged pretty deep inside of me... I thought maybe it came out the other end.." She coughed up her own blood.

"I'm not saying I'm living... Because I'm not. After I die, you two move on. Leave me here. Go somewhere else and be alone. Don't go with anyone

else."

Tohru was beginning to cry. Hudson used her free hand to wipe her tears.

"Do you want to hear a story?" Hudson knew she had to soothe Tohru somehow. She had mere minutes until the end. And it would be almost painless with a smile.

"Alright... A happy one."

Hudson took a breath and began to speak.

"I remember when I went to Yellowstone.. It's a National Park in America... It was so beautiful..."

She took a paper out of her pocket. It was laminated and had a mountain on it.

The snow capped, grey mountain was surrounded by tall, green trees and a bright, blue sky.

On the right corner of the photography, there were fluffy, white clouds and the word "Wyoming" in purple font. Originally, it was a postcard.

"My father and I climbed the mountain. Not this mountain... A smaller one. I was maybe... Ten. And for hours and hours, we barely persevered. We

weren't exact the fittest group of people... Then, when we finally got to the top, I remember him dropping his own bag and lifting me up on his

shoulders. For the rest of the night, we rejoiced until we had to go back down again. That evening, I had the best pudgy pie I ever had in my life."

Tohru gave Hudson a weak smile. "It's so beautiful.. The story... The place... I wish I could go to America."

"And you will. I'll take you."

They both knew of what was really going to happen; in spite of that, they kept dreaming.

"Really?" Her dying eyes lit up.

"Yes... You can come to Arkansas and Yellowstone..."

"And New York!" She coughed again; it was one of three final, bloody sputters.

_ "Thank you... Both of you.."_

The others held both of her hands.

_ "For being.. My friends..."_

Two more coughs, each one more challenging.

Finally, she closed her almond eyes and her grips on Hudson and Kinji went limp.

_ Tohru Kufasaku was dead._

Hudson started to sob. And Kinji could only watch her do so.

Before long, her hands were wet with tears. "It can't be... It can't!"

It was then, once again, due to her absence during Akiyama's death, she realized the game was real.  
><em> Purely, utterly, completely real.<em>

"It is..." Kinji opened his arms for her. She hugged him almost immediately.

"Hudson-san..." He let her cry on his shoulder. "I wish I could do more to help you... I... I'm so sorry... I let this happen. And this is devastating. And

I'm about to cry too."

Hudson held him tightly. "It's not just your fault.. It's mine too. And the government's." Her last sentence was almost a snarl. She had hated them

before, but now, after all that had happened, she despised them even more.

"I know, I know. They're recording us... We can't die. Not now." He sniffles and was starting to lose his grasp on his sanity.

He maintained his speech. "I won't let you. I'll make sure with all my power to keep you from dying such a terrible death. Why are they so vile?

What country would kill children for a "military experiment"?"

His erudition was much greater than Hudson's about the country in which he resided. He had learned the ways of pride and patriotism. Well, faux

patriotism. He learned to wave the flag up high in the air. The red dot and the bleak, white surrounding; the flag of exclusive dictatorship. The flag of

concentration camps; the flag of dehydration and starvation. The flag of Program 68.

Hudson acknowledged his spiel with a response.

_ "Maybe no one has a choice. People can't stand up even if they want to here. They don't let you listen to The Beatles because they sing about _

_revolution and love and peace. It's a subject you can't hear about here. It's impossible to think of those things if they're off limits to you." _

Kinji was appalled. He knew she was smart, yes. He admired her knowledge, as he had everything about her, yes. But he did not know she had

such a passion for what she had lost to come and live there.

"You're right. That's all I can say. You're right."

Not only was he shocked, but Ryuu and Sensei Takami.

Despite his intentions, Takami did not press the big red button to kill them. He knew that Hudson would make things more exciting. That she would

be a help to either drag the game along or speed it up. In a exhilarating way. _That, and for the first time in his ten years as a Program Administrator,_

_he felt sympathy for a student._

Ryuu felt that she was wrong about love. She suddenly felt a pang of loneliness in her cold, rough heart. Realized what she had done caused that

interaction and those words made her run back into the brush.

Suddenly, tears streamed down her face.

_ Was I really wrong? No, I'm always right about this! Is this why those men call me back and give me flowers? Or why my parents never decided to _

_separate? Or why Kufasaku was how she was?_

She ended up back where she started by the tree. She still had a good five minutes to think.

_ It was ten fifty in the morning._

She continued asking herself rhetorical questions until she made it off the edge of the new forbidden zone. For a single second her collar blinked,

but she moved quickly.

She is in zone C-8. It was ten fifty five in the morning. And she, was absolutely exhausted.

Meanwhile, Hudson and Kinji sat alone by the shed. Also, bleary and close to their last limbs.

"We should get going." Hudson told Kinji, as he looked over at Tohru. "That's what she'd want, right?"

"I guess so." He thought he'd rather stay put, but decided to help as he could. The pain in his shoulder was still too much for him.

The bags were all packed. Tohru's supplies were all moved into their four bags evenly. They determined to leave her satchel and duffel at the shed.

There was no need for these things, and to survive as she wanted them to, they had to leave something behind.

They left behind one word at the shed as the took each other's hands and walked away.

_ Survival._  
>"Where to next? And after that? And after that?" Kinji asked Hudson as they took the path to the Okishima Island Lighthouse. A tourist destination<p>

for many, due to events of a previous game.

They were unaware of it.

"Well, I think the lighthouse. If they don't forbid that zone, it's likely that they will. When we get there, eat some bread, and come up with a plan.

Then... I don't know."

"Alright." He held her hand tighter. "As long as we're together, I could care less."

When they arrived to the lighthouse, a voice boomed over the speaker.

_ "What a beautiful afternoon! Hello, Class 5-D, it's Takami again. And you, under my instruction, have done better already! Four students have perished in _

_the past six hours. First, let's start with the girls!" _

Through the speakers, they could hear him sifting through papers.

_ "First, we have Tohru Kufasaku, Female Student #5. Second, Female Student #12, Mayumi Takenaka. Then, for the boys, we have Male Student _

_#6, Goro Kagome and Male Student #9, Moto Mori! The Forbidden zones are H-9 at sixteen; H-10 at eighteen; and F-1 at nineteen. Enjoy the game, _

_there are twenty four students remaining!"_

They thought he was done speaking and stopped writing.

_ "By the way, one and twelve equals thirteen! Takami, out!"_

They were left with a fizzing sound, and then, the speaker finally died down.

Sitting by the stairway on the floor, they tried to group together Sensei's last phrase.

"Is that implying something?" Kinji asked, as he slung his duffel over his good shoulder.

Hudson gave him a smile. "Yeah. That man's onto something. Well, at least it's not murder. For now."

"Right. And can I help you with the bags?" He saw Hudson carrying both of their satchels and her duffel.

"You can't. You'd just drop another. You need to rest... As you can in our dilemma."

He kept silent as she helped up the spiraling stairway and up the small bedroom. Two beds were crammed into the circular room.

"I'll take watch." He volunteered. "I think you're the one who needs rest, actually."

Hudson stood still by the window and balcony, where there was a view of the bright, blue water ahead.

"You just got shot!"

"And you have to take care of me!" He put his one uninjured hand on his face. "I'm nothing but a burden to you! I'm just... A imbecile!"

She was getting teary-eyed again.

"You're anything but that. I couldn't survive a day alone. I..."

"You what?" He was obviously angry with her. He felt terrible. His injury and dealing with Tohru dying took major toll on him. And

_I only want to keep her safe... But my shoulder..._

"I love you, alright! I'm in love with you! I can't stand seeing you like this!"

She stomped to one of the beds, sat down, and began to cry.

"Would you be better off alone? Should I just leave? I had my chance again... And I blew it! I fucking blew it and now you don't care anymore!"

"No, no." Kinji sat beside her, he put his good arm around her shoulder and started to rub her back.

"I want anything but that. I was only trying to protect you.. I'm terribly unhappy that you took it the wrong way. It's something I can't exactly

control... If anyone tried to hurt you... I'd just kill them. Or hurt them back... No questions asked.."

"Like you did for me." Hudson was still sulking. She wasn't sure how he felt yet.

"Like I did for you, yes. And I feel the same about you. I wanted to tell you that one day in the city.. But the moment was just so bittersweet. Us,

as friends, meeting in the city... It was wonderful to think you were going back home.. I thought I'd never see you again."

"Me either." She wrapped her arms around him. "And I'm thankful I did. It's the wrong place, the wrong time, but we're here. Together."

"Alone."

Hudson laughed like she never had since she arrived there. She was truly in love with him. He was in love with her too. Even in the wrong place,

they couldn't keep denying it any longer.

"You're glad, huh?"

"Yes. I am." She sat up a little bit straighter.

"Good." His eyes twinkled as he looked at her.

Maybe arguing was a good thing after all.

"I was wondering... Hudson-san, will you be my girlfriend? I know it's wrong. Here, now. I-"

"Yes. I will." She held him tighter. "I don't care. I waited long enough."

"You have?"

"I did. And I found you."

For a second, there was awkward silence. Then, he smiled at her.

"And I, found you. I couldn't have found anyone else."

Kinji put his hand on her face. "I love you. Don't ever forget that."

She blushed. "I love you too."

Then, they kissed.

_ Takami was right, one plus twelve equals thirteen. _

_ 23 Students Remaining _


	12. Chapter 11

_Location: Okishima Island, Seto Inland Sea, Japan. The Republic of Greater East Asia._  
><em>Time: 14:32<em>  
><em>Date: May 25 2013<em>

_Time went by slowly up in the lighthouse. Hudson and Kinji ended up looking out the lighthouse window together, they felt they needed each other's _

_company._

In that time, they cherished it. Being together with someone you love in any sad story is a luxury. We all know that, reader.

"Are we just going to sit here?" Kinji asked her as he pointed his small pistol at the sea.

"No. Maybe one of us can go down to the door. And watch there. Or make a barricade. Maybe someone else has the same idea."

Hudson was correct.

"Yeah. True." He was beginning to use his left arm a little bit, by holding her hand.

"What's your story? Why are you so..."

"Studious?"

"Yeah. You put a lot of time into that stuff. What about it?"

"I was lonely. I had no friends in Arkansas. Well, one. And she probably thinks I'm dead in a ditch. Across the ocean and miles of land... She's

crying because she thinks I died."

"What's she like? Why her?"

"She's a sophomore this year.. A first grader, I mean. She was actually passing algebra before I went overseas. I haven't gotten many updates

on her. I won't now, obviously. So what happened to that's a complete mystery."

"Hmm. And I think you had more than one friend. You're likable."

"I did. We were never close like I was with Ashley. She's something else."

"Oh. And how would you describe her?"

"A blonde, unpopular snob. A nice snob, you know. She can be ego-centric at times. Well, never enough to the point of breaking up our

friendship. But.. You know. It did come close though."

"How?"

"Not now, Kinji-san. Maybe when we get out of here, we can talk about it."

"Oh. Okay."

She stared and glimpsed out at the sea. "Is that a boat?"

A fishing boat was approaching shore, next to a large boat that watched for escaping students.

"Yeah. Maybe they're fugitives or something. Like those escapees from fifteen years ago."

"Who?"

"On Okishima, there were three people who escaped. The plan wasn't much of a secret, the administrator figured it out. But, you know... They

got out. We haven't heard about them since. One of them died, but they only care that they get the living ones."

"Well... And what happens to the living ones?"

"They were lovers. Like you and me. That's all I know."

"Interesting."

"Yeah. Very." Kinji checked the clock. It was around two-thirty.

"You want some bread? We haven't eaten.. Have we?"

"Well.. I don't know. And we have four more days. I'm waiting."

"At least have some water. You look exhausted."

A smile went on the corner of her face.

_ He's quite the kisser, no doubt._

"Fine. We just have to conserve it. Once we use it, we're not getting it back."

She took a few sips of the water and sat it back down.

"There. I drank the water. Now, you drink some."

Kinji drank the water as she had.

"There. I did it too."

They both chuckled.

"If you would have said something about drink out of the same bottle... I swear I would've shoved you off of the balcony!" Hudson continued

the gag.

"I would never say that. What made you think that?"

"My ex did that. I should've know better."

She had a boyfriend before? Hmm... Interesting.

"You do now. It's better late than never." He shoved his good shoulder against her's, as they had in the bus.

"You're right."

"Wonderful."

They both silently watched the ocean for at least a hour before they heard banging hands on the door.

"Utsumi! Utsumi, let me in!"

_ It was Ryo Honda (Male Student #4). Remember him? If not, you should have. So, here's a brief summary: He's aloof, quiet, and prone to... _

_Illness, in other words, insanity._

"Hudson.. Stay there! I have to see who's down there!" Kinji started to become nervous.

Her safety's being compromised... I can't let her go..

Before long, she headed down the stairs ahead of him.

"I was planning on going anyway!" She held her war rifle, Johnson, in her hands.

She then pried open the metal door. It was hard to get in the building itself because of it.

As I told you a mere six paragraphs ago, Ryo Honda was the one banging his hands on the door. So, that was where he stood.

"Greystone! Kon'nichiwa! Is Utsumi up there with you? This is the last place I've looked!"

Ryo saw her slightly swollen lips and knew the answer. He just spun his feet in circles, waiting for confirmation.

"Yes. He is. He's injured. Not doing too well. He got shot. We're running out of pain meds.."

"Alright. I can still see him?"

"Yeah. Of course."

During the whole conversation, a gun was pointed at his face.

"Do as I say. Do not hurt him."

Ryo put his hands in the air.

"I don't intends to harm your... Beau."

"Good. Come on, see him. He's taking watch."

"Up there?"

Hudson groaned. "Yes, up there. We haven't had time to made a barricade or anything."

"I know you've had time. We've been here for almost a day. You have time now."

"I know. And the sea's good enough now. People walk by the sea, don't they?"

"Sure. Sure they do." Ryo agreed.

Hudson turned the knob of the door, and there Kinji sat, watching the sea.

"Utsumi?"  
>Kinji turned around, to the sound of another voice.<p>

"Honda!" He got up and dropped his gun. He wrapped his arm around his friend.

"How did you find us?"

"I looked, of course."

"No, really."

"I kind of tracked your steps. I saw your friend and figured that you were a group of three. That's all there is to it. Were you?"

"Uh huh."

"How did she... Die?"

"I don't think either of us want to talks about it."

"Oh... Alright. Any other updates... Were you with Kagome? Takenaka?"

"No. We weren't. What happened to them?"

"I found them by a cliff. They were debating in jumping, I suppose. Their collars exploded. There was blood everywhere. Disgusting."

"Oh... They weren't in a forbidden zone, were they?"

"Well, that was forbidden after I left, but yeah. It wasn't that. It was something else."

"Alright. And what has Hudson-san said to you?"

"Nothing... But something's up around here."

Kinji grinned. "Yeah. You'll figure it out. We thought we'd be alone longer... But, it's okay that you're here. Go rest, I'll finish my shift."

"No. Stay with her. I know... I saw."

"Saw what?"

Ryo laughed. "I'm saying nothing. And you, my friend, need a sling."

Ryo took something out of his bag. It was blue and white fabric. A sling, of course.

"I found this in a shed. I thought I'd be the one using it, actually. Take it."

Kinji took it and held it in his useful hand. "Thank you. I'll put it on when I'm done watching."

"No, I got it! You just... Stay here, alright?"

"Okay.."

Ryo took his weapon, a gun similar to Kinji's, out of his duffel. Then, he quietly watched the sea.

Hudson ran to Kinji immediately and helped him out with his sling without a question.

"Does it feel better?" She asked.

"Yeah. It does. Thank you."

"He got it for you, not me. I don't need credit for that."

Kinji let her have that point and didn't want to argue.

"Well, still, thank you. For everything."

Hudson chuckled. "You're welcome."

"I'm serious. Thank you." He smiles at her.

She laughed again and took a peek at Ryo, who was standing still as he had been before.  
>Around the balcony, seagulls began to fly and flock.<p>

"Scram! You stupid birds!" Ryo was then moving his hands around to scare them off.

Before they even began laughing at him, Ryo asked, "What's so funny?"

"Nothing!" Hudson and Kinji were laughing in each other's arms. They had to witness the event in its entirety.

"Just keep staring. It's your job, isn't it?"

No objection was given. He put himself in that position and he knew he had to just deal with it.

_ This whole game is just dealing. Dealing until you die..._

Although he hid it, then, he hit rock bottom.

_ He became insane._

Not then, did he have much of a plan. He did not know what to do or how to deal with the game. Did he want to win, yes, most certainly. Not

until that moment, he had not felt lonely. And the only way he thought he could feel as he had before was to eliminate what was making him feel

lonely.

_ Utsumi... We've been friends since elementary school. Remember when Oku-san got angry at us during first grade for throwing that apple across the_

_room? Or when Kamin-san fell for our pranks? Like the string on the ceiling... Or when Sobo Ren would teach us how to cook and sew? Your father was quite_

_sad that we liked that better than baseball or kendo... And we were such good friends... And now, for someone you met in February, you threw it all away. _

_And maybe, I fell in love with her too._

He tried to make a plan as he stared at the ocean.

"Either way, it's gonna bite me right in the back." He whispered to himself.

"I can't ask Utsumi for help... That would just falter."

Kinji could not hear him, even from a short distance. He was in his own conversation, with the girl he met in February.

"I wonder what's up with Honda?" Hudson asked him, seeing that he started pacing.

"I don't know. Do you have any theories?"

"Yeah... I think I'm ruining your friendship... I'm sorry. I didn't know about him. I knew about Akiyama.. And Kato, but never did I know anything

about Honda."

"He did imply it once. He was devastated because he saw you loved me back. And what was I supposed to do? I couldn't hide it and he couldn't

either... We just stopped talking about it because we knew it would ruin things. And for the last month of your studies here, it worked well and we

became close again."

"I saw that you were close the morning I came to school on the first day.. Before that boy tripped me in the hall.. And I'm still thankful you

helped me out there. Really."

"Well, you're right. That would have been terrible if I hadn't helped you. I could have met you under any other circumstance, but I liked that we

met alone.. Not like the class introduction that Sensei made you do that morning."

"I agree... In America, we call them 'ice breakers'. On the first day of school for at least seven different teachers and classes, we have one to

introduce ourselves. Because then, everyone is new."

"Interesting. But about Honda.. Should I ask him about what's wrong?"

"Maybe. He needs time to himself. And so do we." She leaned her head on his good shoulder.

"He doesn't deserve to feel depressed. Nobody does, no matter how or why."

Kinji looked at her, the girl of his dreams. He then looked at Ryo, the best friend he ever had.

There was no way he could just choose one or the other. Leaving both Hudson and Ryo for the other would depress them both outright.

"I know.. And I have to make this work.. Somehow. Or we're never getting off this island alive."

He sighed and stared at them both once again.

He muttered to himself. "Ryo, thank your for being a good friend... I mean it."

To Hudson, he said this: "I love you."

She smiled and looked up at him. "I love you too."

She kissed his cheek. "You want some more water?"

She got up to get the water, but did not walk ahead to the balcony door.

"No. Stay here." He held her with his good arm.

"Not with Honda here..."

"He's just watching the boats. Like he used to at the river port. And on our trip a few years ago, at the seaside. A kiss behind his back won't do

him any harm, would it?"

She pondered for a second, seeing her classmate still staring intensely at the sea. Like he did before he began pacing. He had calmed himself

enough to stare again.

"No. Not at all."

It was then Ryo turned around. He never focused on a word they said. He only saw their lips touch and her arms around him.

"I know you're listening out there. Someone. But I told you. I told you they don't care about me. I lost Utsumi. I'll never get him back.. Help me out, whether it be God, a entity, a student, or even Sensei."

Ryo couldn't hear his response from the two miles separating them.

"Go on, Male Student #4, I'm listening. I can hear you speaking and I can hear them kissing. Tell me more."

_ Ryo never did in voice. He would tell in action. Cold-hearted, blood spilling action._

_ 23 Students Remaining_


	13. Chapter 12

_Location: Okishima Island, Seto Inland Sea, Japan. The Republic of Greater East Asia._  
><em>Time: 16:00<em>  
><em>Date: May 25 2013<em>

_ After a while, Ryo and Kinji switched shifts. Now, Ryo's dear friend and Hudson's lover started at the ocean, the seagulls, and the surrounding _

_islands._

"You don't mind if I start the barricade, do you?" Ryo questioned Hudson, who was taking a drink of water.

"Go ahead. That needs to be done." She spoke to him in a tone of voice he couldn't decipher. Not monotonous, not cheerful, not depressed, but something else.

"Great. I'll be back at eighteen. Six. If you didn't understand, Greystone."

"Yeah. I did. At six o'clock standard time. I understand. Take your map and things with you. Sensei's going to make another announcement."

"Yeah. I got it. I'll see you lovebirds later." He waved to her. "Tell Utsumi I said goodbye."

"Okay. Goodbye! Hang in there!"

He thought maybe she figured it out. He was lonely, and even as a friend, he'd be grateful to have a conversation with her.

But to him, it seems she stole Kinji right from under his feet.

_ I can't have that._

He headed out of the lighthouse and back to the forest. However, he did intend to come back.

His feelings were conflicted with his logic. He needed to think things through.

Do I spare them? Do I kill them? Do I do anything?

The steps he took led them to another shed, like the one Hudson, Kinji and Tohru stopped at.

There were two girls inside the shed. Their timing, their placement, and everything in between meant bad luck.

Fate.

One of them was Mai Nakamura (Female Student #9). Her short, bobbed haircut made her stand out against the other girls. Her heart was also

another factor. She had crushed on so many boys, including Honda himself, who declined her in a fashionable manner. Later, she forgave him. She

moved on and found another boy from a different class.

She had been with him since, but then, she knew she'd never see him again.

There was no way she would win. Not with Ryo Honda standing close by.

The other was Sayuri Tsukino (Female Student #13). She was best friends with Mai. She helped her with plenty of things. She was the mediator

of the class and was class president. She made sure that they learned more about American culture upon seeing they were chosen to have a

exchange student in their class.

Her efforts paid off. Hudson almost felt at home.

"Sayuri-chan! Look at this! I found it a while ago... In the woods!"

"Huh? What is it?"

Ryo peeked through the small window of what turned out to be a home, not a shed. It's appearance created a image contrary.

"A drawing.. It has to be Utsumi's!" Mai showed her friend the paper, who looked at it for a while. Almost too long to keep Ryo waiting.

"That's his, alright. But he hasn't drawn since Grade 1. Remember? He stopped because his father told him to. Then he had that stint in kendo."

"Yeah.. And he was terrible at kendo. He's handsome, and muscular, but he's terrible at sports. He should still be drawing."

"Well, he should be still drawing publicly again. He could have gotten that thing on display in the Art Tower. And we could have all seen it and

said, 'That boy goes to Private School 17!'"

The girls both smiled at the thought. Ryo did too.

Utsumi still did draw. He never stopped. Sobo told him to keep going. She said he could project any image from his mind realistically for others to

see. And that she could envision his heart on the pieces of paper. God bless that woman and what she's done.

"And... What do you think the eye's supposed to represent. That's a question to both of us, Mai-chan."

Mai peeked at the drawing.

"That's Hudson-san. No doubt. Who else has green eyes in this class? Nobody!"

"Racial stereotypes... You love those!"

Mai chuckled at her best friend's comment. "You're not right about that, but think about it. He was in love with her. He probably drew pictures of

her all the time. And she's pretty too, so that helps."

"I see what you mean. People like looking at portraits of pretty people."

"That's my point exactly." Mai held up the picture up to her face.

Ryo finally got a view of the image. The green eye, in a 'American almond' shape, stared deep into his own eyes.

_ Hudson-san..._

The eyebrow was eerily similar to how hers were styled. It was as if she sat and let Kinji sketch her eyes like he was drawing a portrait. It

looked as if at any second, Hudson would appear and blink. The eye looked almost real. The only thing that distinguished it completely from reality

was when Kinji sketched, he always sketched in different directions. He never kept going left, right, up, or down. He would go in different directions,

taking a completely realistic tone away.

Kinji always told Ryo it made the drawings look "avant-garde".

_ Whatever the hell that means._

Ryo then realized what he was there for. He knew he wasn't just stalking there two girls for the hell of it.

_ I'm here to kill. It's either them or Utsumi._

Brandished with his given weapon, Ryo knocked on the door.

_Be polite. Wait for them to figure things out._

Mai answered right away. "I knew it! You were out there! In the window! Stalking us!"

"Mai-chan, calm down. Honda just got here. You don't know anything yet!"

"That's because you were standing in front of the window!"

Sayuri huffed. "Alright.. What are you here for?"

"The drawing, actually. Utsumi wanted it... To keep with his other ones." Ryo fibbed. He did know, despite that, that Kinji did have other

drawings. He hadn't shown them to Hudson or even Ryo himself, but the drawings did exist.

"Oh! Alright! Let me get it for you!" Sayuri left it in the table and handed it to him.

"You said you were with Utsumi?"

"Yeah. I am."

"And..." Mai giggled, adding on to her friend's question. "Was Hudson-san with him?"

"Yep." He looked at the drawing more, taking in the details he did not see from before.

"And... You know?"

Sayuri yelled at her friend. "That's for them and them to know only! People are dying and you're asking about that! Do you want to live or not, Mai-chan?"

Ryo smirked. "Yes, actually. They kissed a few times already. Three today. And I'm getting fed up with it."

Mai squealed. "I knew it! You owe me two-thousand yen!"

"I technically won the bet! You said before the study trip. And now, we're technically on the study trip. It counts as nothing. You owe me

two-thousand yen."

Ryo put the drawing in his pocket and exposed his other hand.

"You bet on that?"

"It was so obvious.. We didn't know a exact date... Was that last night? Because that would count, wouldn't it?" Mai wondered,

trying to make

her friend give up money she didn't have.

"No. I wasn't there until this morning. I don't think it was their first any of those times either. I really don't know... Another thing you don't know

is the day of your death. This morning, you didn't think that you were going to die today. Neither did those other kids. However, you are. You are

going to die today."

He held up his gun, walked in the shed, and shut the door behind him. The two girls cowered in fear.

First, he shot Mai in the head. She died almost instantaneously. Sayuri was beginning to sob.

"I should have listened to her! There is no way someone as aloof as you could ever gain another friend! Ever!"

"You're right."

Those were Sayuri Tsukino's last words. Those words were also some of her first publicly insulting ones.

_ "I first let a cat out of the bag, it scratched my eyes out and ordered me to go, to answer all the questions I had. Will it all become clear? Will it _

_all become clear now?"_

_ 21 Students Remaining_


End file.
